The Supreme Court on Thursday resumed hearing bail pleas filed by activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and three others accused in the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, as the petitioners reiterated that their participation in protests could not be criminalised under the law.
A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria heard the matter.
The top court will continue hearing the matter on November 11.
Senior advocate Sanjeev Luthera, appearing for accused Shadab Ahmad, argued that organising or participating in protests is not a criminal offence.
Ahmad was arrested on April 6, 2020, and was subsequently charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
During an earlier hearing on Monday, activists Meeran Haider, Umar Khalid, Shifa-ur-Rehman and others accused in the larger conspiracy case told the court that they became aware of the completion of the investigation against them only on September 4, 2024.
The counsel for former JNU student Umar Khalid concluded his arguments on November 3, opposing the framing of charges in the same conspiracy case.
Senior advocate Trideep Pais told Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai that he had finished his submissions, after which the court listed the case for November 6. Arguments for co-accused Salim Malik are scheduled for November 10.
Earlier, Pais had contended that “no criminality could be attributed” to Khalid and described the FIR as a “joke” lacking “sanctity of law.”
Khalid has been in custody since September 13, 2020.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Khalid in his bail plea under the UAPA, argued there was no evidence linking his client to the riots.
“There are 751 FIRs, I am charged in one, and if it’s a conspiracy, it’s a bit surprising! If I conspired riots, on dates in which riots took place, I was not in Delhi,” he said.
Sibal added, “No funds, weapons and physical evidence connecting me to violence have been found yet. No witness statement actually connects petitioner to any act of violence.” He also cited parity with activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Iqbal Tanha, who were granted bail in 2021.
Referring to Khalid’s February 2020 speech in Amravati, Sibal said, “It was a public speech where I spoke about Gandhian principles.”
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Gulfisha Fatima, told the bench that she had been in jail for over five years despite “an annual ritual” of supplementary chargesheets.
“The allegation is merely that she created a WhatsApp group,” he said, arguing that the real test was the intent to incite violence.
Siddharth Dave, representing Sharjeel Imam, submitted, “Out of the five years I have spent in custody, three went by because the probe was still ongoing. The speeches were delivered nearly two months before the riots.”
Opposing the bail pleas, the Delhi Police alleged that the accused had conspired to “strike at the sovereignty and integrity of the country” through a “regime change operation” disguised as peaceful protest.
The February 2020 violence during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) claimed 53 lives and left more than 700 people injured.